How to Arrange Furniture in a Square Space

Good design principles will guide you to a pleasing furniture arrangement.

Good furniture arrangement follows a few design guidelines. Once you know the guidelines, you can arrange furniture in a square room, or a room of any shape, and achieve the result of a well-balanced, functional space. You can avoid problems such as people walking in front of the TV or having to turn sideways to get around the bed if you follow the decorator’s method of furniture placement.

Who’s the Boss?

The focal point in the room is the boss; it is the center around which furniture is arranged; it is the anchor for the room. Typically the focal point is the most important piece in the room and is the first thing people notice when they enter. A fireplace or picture window are architectural focal points, a TV entertainment unit, a large painting or the bed are focal points you install. In a square room, it is helpful to place the focal point on a wall adjacent to the door wall, not across from the door.

Make a Plan

Make a floor plan before you start moving furniture around the room. Use an online room planner, or print some templates and use them on a to-scale graph paper representation of your room. Place the main piece of furniture on the plan, keeping in mind the focal point and how people will move through the room -- the traffic flow. A square room is symmetrical, so a symmetrical furniture arrangement best suits this room shape. For example, place the sofa facing the fireplace first and then add the secondary furniture, such as two occasional chairs, flanking the sofa. The shape they create in the middle should be a square -- which is also the shape of the coffee table that would best suit this space.

Balance the Sections

After you have placed the furniture on the plan, divide the plan into four equal sections with a line down the center both horizontally and vertically. Look at the amount of furniture in each quadrant and try to rearrange a few things so that the quadrants have the same furniture visual weight. The perceived size of the furniture is the visual weight, which depends on the style of the piece and the covering: Darker pieces tend to have more visual weight than lighter-colored pieces. If one quadrant is full, and another is empty, perhaps a folding screen or large plant would provide balance. In a square room, this balance is critical; because the room is symmetrical, if the quadrants are not also symmetrical in visual weight, the room will appear out of balance.

Bend the Rules

If you want your fireplace corner-mounted, follow the angle of the front of the fireplace for the sofa placement. If you want the bed angled into a corner, it may be necessary to do that in a corner across from the door. In both of these decorating plans, the square shape of the room is slightly ignored, and preference is given to the furniture. Good furniture arrangement in a square room is one which works for the family that uses the room. If you want your furniture arranged asymmetrically, and it suits your needs, then give yourself permission to arrange it that way.

About the Author

Linda Erlam started writing educational manuals in 1979. She also writes a biweekly newspaper column, "Design Dilemmas," in the "Lakeshore News" and has been published in "Design and Drapery Pro" magazine. Erlam is a graduate of the Sheffield School of Interior Design and is a practicing interior decorator and drapery workroom operator.